CENTROPE Regional Development Report 2011. Long Run Growth and Demographic Challenges – Executive Summary

Macroeconomic forecasts for Europe and the CENTROPE countries currently suggest that the recovery of the years 2010 and 2011 was only a short-lived interlude both in the CENTROPE countries as well as most other EU countries. The world-wide slowdown in growth will affect the CENTROPE countries and it can be expected that Europe and thus also the CENTROPE regions are currently entering a period of protracted slow growth. The long-run growth prospects of CENTROPE are, however, intact. GVA and in particular productivity growth in the CENTROPE was substantially higher than in other cross-border metropolitan regions and much of the improved growth performance in CENTROPE in the last years was due to a rapid improvement of regional competitiveness. According to an analysis of demographic developments demographic decline seems to be a smaller problem in the CENTROPE than in many other EU regions. Although this again reflects rather positively on CENTROPE in comparison to the EU, ageing of the population, however, is a serious challenge to the economies of CENTROPE, which will necessitate developing long-term and coherent strategies to maintain living standards and quality of life for citizens in all age groups.